(Click to read Acts 18)Acts
18:5-7 (ESV)5 When Silas and Timothy arrived from
Macedonia, Paul was occupied with the word, testifying to the Jews
that the Christ was Jesus. 6 And when they opposed and reviled him,
he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood be on your
own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” 7
And he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus,
a worshipper of God. His house was next door to the synagogue.

Oh
Paul.

Certainly this man had a great deal of good to say. Most
of the New Testament's epistles were written by Paul. From them we
derive a good portion if not a majority of contemporary Christian
theology. In his defense against those who criticize him in
preference to the teachings of Jesus in the gospels or the epistle of
James, I encourage the reader to consider Paul in the context of
these other portions of scripture, not in opposition to them. Paul
had a targeted mission to reach the Greek world of the 1st century. I
believe that Paul's theology is quite harmonious with the rest of the
New Testament when one realizes that he is interpreting the same
messages through a different culture's lens. Let's give Paul a break
on that front.

However, we need not take any of Paul's actions
as justified, and certainly not as good Christian example.

So
let's call this what it is. Paul is being a child. At best. Really,
he's being racist, hateful, manipulative, selfish, and cruel.

I
mean, come on. Just imagine for one moment how you would respond if
this were to happen in your city. A Christian man enters your
neighbourhood from out of town. He goes to a Jewish synagogue to
preach to them about Jesus. On that point we can be a little
gracious, since Paul is Jewish himself, these are his people, and
going to Jews first was from an attitude of respect, not bigotry. But
now imagine that person responding to the Jews in the synagogue as
Paul does here. Imagine, starting a Bible Study next door to the
synagogue, right after speaking and acting this way.

Even if
you claim to love Paul's doctrine and writings, and have Romans 1:16
tattooed on your neck, you wouldn't support someone who acted this
way in your city. In Canada, he'd likely be charged with hate speech.
And it would be a right judgment if he were declared guilty. This is
indefensible.

Evidence in the same chapter suggests this is
so.

Acts 18:19
(ESV)And they came to Ephesus, and he left them there, but
he himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews.

Here
Paul is, later in the same chapter, probably less than two years
later, reasoning with the Jews in an Ephesian synagogue. I love the
use of the word "reason", suggesting a healthy and
respectful dialogue, back and forth.

This is the same man who
ungraciously rejected John Mark from being among his company. The man
made one mistake (in Paul's perception), by leaving Paul and Barnabas
during a mission. Paul refuses to rejoin company with John Mark after
this, and even breaks relationship with Barnabas over it, possibly
his closest friend in Christendom.

Barnabas himself had even
been the one to bring Paul into the Jesus Community to begin with,
soon after Paul's conversion from a murderer who targeted the church
itself. That a man who had been shown so much grace was so unwilling
to offer any is astounding.

Back to Acts 18, we must further
consider that this was a synagogue of Jews that had likely
experienced persecution themselves. In verse three it says that Paul
was staying with tentmaker friends Priscilla and Aquila, Jews who had
been displaced in Corinth by Rome for their ethnicity. Many of these
Jews in the Corinthian synagogue likely found themselves there under
similar circumstances. Later in chapter 18, there is an incident with
the Jews before a Roman court that shows a blatant disregard by Rome
to consider seriously the needs or judgments within the Jewish
community (vv12-17). These are a people under persecution and denied
justice, treated as second citizens by their government. One can
hardly imagine a more insensitive approach than Paul's when sharing
about Jesus, Lord of love.

If we dig even deeper, we can even
criticize the timing of Paul's outburst. It seems convenient that he
should willingly reason with Jews and Gentiles while dependent on
Jewish hospitality, and working as a tentmaker, likely among the
Jewish community (vv3-4). But when his friends rejoin him in verse
five, he suddenly starts working in ministry full time, probably
generously supported by his friend's dime. It isn't until he finds
himself financially independent of the Jewish community that he pulls
this stunt. I recognize that this last part is taking some leaps, but
Paul is hardly less guilty even if I am incorrect.

Still,
despite all of this, he end up remaining in the city for over a year
and a half (vv11). Verses nine and ten tell us that it was God that
leads him to stay. God continues to use this joker in the city of
Corinth, even after this episode. I suspect that between the lines
some peace may have been made between him and the Jews at Corinth. He
did enter the Ephesian synagogue without hesitation, and those Jews
even asked him to stay (vv19-20). In verse eighteen, it says Paul had
taken a vow. I hope that the details of the vow included some
opportunity for him to grow in his demonstration of God's
Grace.

This is the end of Paul's second missionary journey.
This is the same mission in which he showed remarkable wisdom and
cultural sensitivity to the Aropageus, the Greek philosophers at Mars
Hill in Athens just one chapter ago.

Ministry is hard. Very
hard. Speaking about eternity and faith and scripture is a sober and
weighty task. Doing so graciously among those with whom one
disagrees, as Paul does, is even more difficult. It is my inclination
to extend Paul the grace he refuses others when it comes to his
attitudes and actions demonstrated here and toward John Mark. It
seems this man who at this point in the story has already suffered a
beating, imprisonment, stoning, and several arrests, was also quite a
bear to be around.

And I relate.

I'm a minister of the
Gospel of the Kingdom of God. And I can be a bear sometimes. I'm not
excusing myself, anymore than I excuse Paul. This is confession, not
justification. I can get frustrated sometimes when things in
community don't go as I expect. Church community is people, so that
means things frequently do not go as one might expect. It's an irony
that preachers like myself are often people of deep conviction, yet
must also be blessed with great patience, grace, and flexibility.
It's a tension that sometimes can result in a stumble. I'm sure
Paul's experience was many times more difficult than my own. I don't
judge Paul, neither do I envy him.

Instead, I am encouraged.
Paul is small, weak, and prone to make mistakes, like me. But Paul's
God is big. Jesus continues to speak to Paul at the end of this
journey, despite his failures. We may even be witnessing Paul's
ministry burnout at the end of a long mission. Still, he stays put in
Corinth and is used by God, even in his weakness. If God can use a
person as messed up as Paul, former murderer, perhaps he can use me
as well.

Finally, I want to draw attention to Paul's good
friends, Priscilla and Aquila. We have to read between the lines to
see it, but I easily imagine this couple as a key to Paul's success
at the end of his mission. At the end of chapter 18, these two
patiently and graciously correct and teach a zealous young preacher,
Apollos, who was preaching in the community half-cocked, needing
further instruction in scripture and the person of Jesus (vv24-28).
They handle the difficult task of correction well, as Apollos
receives from them and continues to preach with their instruction. I
imagine these Corinthian believers may have also been a guiding hand
in the spitfire Paul's life when he stayed with them in Corinth.
Perhaps it was their kind and loving ministry toward Paul in their
home that gave him the rest he needed to continue in ministry.

Paul
later wrote a letter to the church in the city of Corinth, where he
had his outburst and questionable hone ministry. 1 Corinthians 13 is
one of the most well known passages of the entire Bible. In it, I
hear very little of Paul's example. I imagine that if Paul ever had
love demonstrated to him as he describes in 1 Corinthians 13, it may
have been in the home of Priscilla and Aquila, displaced Jewish
tentmakers.

Love grew Paul up.

Thank God for every
Priscilla and Aquila demonstrating love and grace and rest in the
life of every Paul ministering Jesus today. Thank God for my
Priscillas and Aquilas. You look like Jesus to me.

1
Corinthians 13:4-13 (ESV)

Love
is patient and kind;love does not envy or boast;it is not
arrogant or rude.It does not insist on its own way;it is not
irritable or resentful;it does not rejoice at wrongdoing,but
rejoices in the truth.

Love bears all things,believes all
things,hopes all things,endures all things.Love never
ends.

As for prophesies, they will pass away;as for
tongues, they will cease;as for knowledge, it will pass away.For
we know in part and we prophesy in part,but when the perfect
comes, the partial will pass away.

When I was a child,I
spoke like a child,I thought like a child,I reasoned like a
child.

When I became a man,I gave up childish ways.

For
now we see in a mirror dimly,but then face to face.Now I know
in part;then I shall know fully,even as I have been fully
known.

So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three;but
the greatest of these is love.+

v3
– Paul Makes tents with Priscilla and Aquila. They become his dear
friends, who he often mentions in his letters laterv4 – Tent
maker during the week, reasoning in the synagogue on the Sabbathv5
– Once his friends arrived, he no longer needed to make tents. They
supported him to do full time ministryv6 – Paul is mad but this
is untrue. He’s blowing steam. See v19v19 – See. He’s back
(v6) Paul loves the Jews.v24 – Apollos is mentioned in 1
Corinthians. Many came to faith by him.v28 – Apollos was a
smart man

Friday, June 29, 2012

Acts
17:26-28 (ESV)(God made) every nation of mankind to live on all
the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the
boundaries of their dwelling place, 27 that they should seek
God, in the hope that they might feel their way towards him and find
him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, 28 for

“‘In
him we live and move and have our being’;

as even some of
your own poets have said,

“‘For we are indeed his
offspring.’

Good
News, me hearties. We’ve been set free.

Through faith, in
the eyes of God we have been given the righteousness Jesus. He is now
our high priest, and King of kings. He is the only mediator we need
to go straight to God. We don’t need a special secret method, and
we don’t need another special human being to confess to or to hold
our faith in their hands.

We are now invited to be citizens of
the Kingdom of God. Through Jesus, all the corrupt powers of empire
around us and within is have been defeated. We may now have renewed
hearts, and the very Spirit of God living inside us, the living seed
of the Kingdom growing in us, through us, changing the structures of
the world around us.

We may now live for the King of kings,
and no lesser authority in Earth or Heaven holds sway over that
authority. Our King says we are free.

Our life in as free
citizens of the Kingdom starts by faith, and it continues by faith.
It’s all free, and it is the work of the Holy Spirit within and
through us that manifests Kingdom Justice and Love in the
world.Acts
17:24-25 (ESV)24 The God who made the world and everything in it,
being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man,
25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything,
since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and
everything.

The
King is a giver, me hearties. He doesn’t need our efforts. He
doesn’t need our works. There is nothing we can do to impress him.
There is nothing that we have that we can give him. Everything we
have is from him. The Kingdom growing in the world around us is
turning everything right, toward his just and loving purpose for
which it was created.

This is good news for us that are weak.
This is good news for us who struggle with anxiety or addiction. This
is good news for the poor, the oppressed, those in the margins.

This
is difficult news for those with power, for the rich, for the
violent. It was hard news for Paul, the man who spoke these words
from Acts 17.

Before he had received the freedom and grace
Jesus offers the world, he had lived for and preached an entirely
different message. Before Jesus, he taught others to take the
religious code of law, put it on like a chain, and pull it as a
weight to show God you were good enough for the Kingdom.

Paul
heard the message of Jesus. He heard it straight from the mouth of
Stephen as he stood and watched approvingly at his murder (Paul's
words in verses 24-25 closely match Stephen's last words in Acts
7:48-50). The free entrance into the Kingdom of God offered by Jesus
and his followers was so different that Paul felt his entire life
threatened by it. That's why he hated the new Kingdom Communities and
violently persecuted them.

Paul needed to be blinded, weak,
and vulnerable before he was able to accept this freedom in which
these communities shared. Once he did, he became the first and most
effective missionary preacher the church had had since Jesus.

Here
are Paul's words on his new life in the Kingdom:Galatians
2:20 (ESV)I
have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but
Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live
by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Paul
now lived
in Jesus’ resurrected life, by faith.

Paul
also said this:

Romans
6:14For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under
law, but under grace.Jesus
did not promise that we would see the end of poverty in our lifetime,
but we will continue to be generous and stand for justice for the
poor and oppressed in the hope of the completion of his will and his
Kingdom come on Earth, as he did promise.

In that same hope,
we walk in faith, and without any condemnation, believing that God’s
work in forming us and the Just Kingdom in the world will be
completed.

With the authority of this message of freedom and
grace, a truly humbled and gentled Paul found himself in the bustling
and lively and progressive capital city of Athens, among a people who
had never before heard it.

Paul found himself in Athens with
some time on his hands, having been escorted there for his own
protection. He and his friends Silas, Timothy, and Luke (author of
the book of Acts) had caused trouble in the last two cities they’d
visited, and Paul had to leave quickly.They
had some success in Thessalonica, where people wanted to hear the
things they said. But things soon turned ugly, and they were accused
of treason against Ceasar for proclaiming that Jesus was the new King
(v7). They fled to Berea, where the religious faithful were happy to
explore scripture to see if the things they said were true. But when
agitators who followed from Thessalonica tracked them down, Paul had
to flee again for his physical safety.

Now Paul was in Athens
alone, waiting for his friends to arrive.

The city of Athens
was a major metropolitan centre. Though it wasn’t at the peak it
had achieved about four hundred years before, it was still at the
centre of philosophical and artistic influence of its era. It had a
leading university, and attracted thinkers and students from all over
the neighbouring territories. Philosophy and literature were a major
point of the cultural identity.

(A
capital city valuing arts, literature and a progressive University
campus culture could describe my neighbourhood in Edmonton, frozen
capital of Alberta.)In
this major urban centre, Paul found himself alone and without
influence.

Consider the power dynamic of this image compared
with our ideas of missions today. If we take away our privilege and
our wealth and our ability to give aide, are we still able to share
the Good News of the Kingdom of God with the poor and the outsider,
locally or internationally? What does this mean for missions? Can
poor people share the message of the Kingdom?

Before Jesus,
Paul was a privileged man of great influence. After Jesus, he finds
himself alone in a strange city with no apparent need for his story
of Jesus.

As we, the world's most privileged, seek to give our
aide to the needy, we should remember that it is not the blanket we
give, or the orphanage we build, or the soup kitchen we run that is
going to lead people to understand or accept the Kingdom of God. At
best, when we have this attitude we become arrogant and selfish in
our own abilities and strength, and forget the God who saved us. At
worst, we set ourselves up as gods and idols ourselves in the lives
of the people we serve, and use our influence to create converts from
indebtedness. This is not honouring to God.

The rich and
powerful, like us, are just as in need of the freedom of the Kingdom
as the poor we serve. The most oppressive and hateful of the most
powerful class has as much need to be freed from their oppression and
hatred as the poor does from their poverty.

What Paul has to
offer Athens is the gospel of the Kingdom, and the Holy Spirit inside
of him. He had faith that God was the one who changed hearts and gave
grace. He walked humbly in Jesus’ authority, not his own.

When
we find ourselves in the position to give generously to those in
need, or we find that we ourselves are the ones in need, either way
it is the the power of the Holy Spirit that is the strength in our
mission, not ourselves.

We are citizens of the Kingdom of God,
demonstrating and speaking Justice and Love wherever we go, spreading
seeds of the Kingdom in the cracks of the empire's foundation. We are
ambassadors of the Kingdom to the empire, speaking truth to false
power, inviting anyone who would to join the movement that will
change the world.Acts
17:17 (ESV)So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the
devout persons, and in the market-place every day with those who
happened to be there.To
effectively serve people as citizens of the Kingdom, we need to be
where people are.Both
the synagogue and marketplace were places of meeting, where people
went at their leisure to hang out, do business, spend time with each
other, and to talk. Our equivalent may be a pub, coffee shop, mall,
or library.Acts
17:18 (ESV)Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also
conversed with him. And some said, “What does this babbler wish to
say?” Others said, “He seems to be a preacher of foreign
divinities”—because he was preaching Jesus and the
resurrection.To
effectively serve people as citizens of the Kingdom, we need to know
who they are.Paul
found himself among Epicureans and Stoics. The Epicureans were
material empiricists. All that is and can be known can be measured
and tested, and the chief end of life is to seek pleasure. The Stoics
believed in a divinity called “Logos”, which they described as an
impersonal supreme intelligence that was the force of all reason and
fated everyone to whatever lived they found themselves in. For them,
the greatest participation in the divine was to live for pure
reason.

These two philosophies are remarkably similar to the
common ideologies of atheistic empiricism and postmodern
pantheism.

Not only was Paul aware of these philosophies
before he arrived, as we can see by how he addressed the people in
his speech, he was observant of his surroundings, seeing the idols
all around him in the city, and becoming provoked by them. When he
looked around the city, he didn't just see great architecture, he was
moved by the things that moved God.Kingdom
ambassadors know people as God knows them.Paul
had a biblical worldview, and spiritually sensitive eyes. Paul
understood the full spectrum of the gospel. He knew God as holy, and
that the sin of the people of Athens would move God to fierce
justice. He knew God as love, and that the sin of the people of
Athens would move God to gracious forgiveness.

The more we
live according to God's Kingdom, the more we will see with Kingdom
eyes.Kingdom
ambassadors sensitively seek to know people as they know
themselves.

Paul
was well educated in the culture and philosophies of the
people to whom he he was speaking.In verse 26 Paul describes God as
determining times and places of people’s lives, in a language that
would not be unfamiliar to the fatalism of the Stoics.

In
verse 28 he quotes two different Greek poets that they would have
been familiar with. One of them is actually a quote that describes
the Greek God, Zeus.

Paul read books, met and listened to lots
of people, and observed the architecture around him in order to
better know and understand the people he was speaking to. Paul
entered the culture of the people of Athens, becoming an Athenian to
the greatest degree he could, and shared the gospel with them in
their cultural language.

Paul was not a sectarian. A sectarian
is afraid of the culture around him, and seeks to isolate himself in
a bubble of his faith, lest he be infected by the contagious culture
surrounding him. Far from being afraid of the culture, Paul faced it
head on with humility and in the light of the gospel.

In the
marketplace, he did not simply declare his message, as from a
soapbox. He reasoned with people. He had an engaged, respectful give
and take dialogue with them.

When invited to speak to the
Areopagus (or Mars Hill – the council of philosophical authority in
the city), he began very gently with what they knew, and then clearly
brought them to what they didn’t know.

He acknowledged their
idols specifically. He spoke in the language of their philosophies
when they were congruent to the message of Jesus. He quoted their
poets.

But he did not compromise the essential elements of the
gospel.

Paul was not a syncretist. He did not seek to marry
his “Jesus philosophy” to the common philosophies of his day,
hoping to slip some Jesus in when people weren’t looking. He had
the boldness and the humility to present himself and what he believed
exactly as they were. He did not compromise for fear or for
pride.

The philosophers of Mars Hill were looking for a new
idea. Paul did not present the gospel as such. His message commanded
not a change of mind or philosophy, but an entire change of
being.

At the centre of his message was the truth that God did
not and does not need the service and work of religious people.

This
is Good News for the weak, but difficult for the
self-sufficient.

God made us, and to raise ourselves or
anything else up as a god instead of him is ignorant.

Imagine
the offense of that word, “ignorant” to the council of great
philosophers of Athens.

Paul called them to repent, to turn
around and leave the Spirit of empire, and act entirely different, as
an agent of the Kingdom of Grace. Exactly as many as were ready to
receive Paul's message did, including members of the Aropageus
itself.+Let us live as ambassadors of Justice, Love,
and Grace.

Let us engage with people around
us,

sympathetically knowing them as they know themselves,

and
as God knows them.

Let us humbly live, share, and proclaim
Jesus and the Kingdom in our cultural context without
compromise.

+

v4
– Paul’s company gets biggerv5 – Jealousy. The gospel
requires humility because it really is for everyone. It makes Donald
Trump no better than a homeless drug dealer.v10 – The diligence
of the Bereansvv16-34 – Paul preaches at MARS HILL in AthensHe
saw the idols.He reasonedHe had compassionHe spoke with
wisdom and GraceHe did not compromise the truth

Thursday, June 28, 2012

(Click to read Acts 16)Acts
16:19-23 (ESV)When her owners saw that their hope of gain was
gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the
market-place before the rulers. 20 And when they had brought them to
the magistrates, they said, “These men are Jews, and they are
disturbing our city. 21 They advocate customs that are not lawful for
us as Romans to accept or practise.” 22 The crowd joined in
attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and
gave orders to beat them with rods. 23 And when they had inflicted
many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the
jailer to keep them safely.

Paul
has embarked on his second missionary journey, joined this time by
Silas as a partner in the place of Barnabas. Together the two men
travel to visit some of the churches that had started as a result of
Paul's first mission with Barnabas. On their journey they acquire two
more comrades, both of them Greek. Timothy is the first to join them,
a young man of good reputation who has become part of these new
churches.Acts
16:3-4 (ESV)3 Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he took
him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places,
for they all knew that his father was a Greek. 4 As they went on
their way through the cities, they delivered to them for observance
the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and elders who
were in Jerusalem.The
irony of verses three and four illustrate a tension of cultural
sensitivity in missions. Part of Paul's purpose in traveling is to
deliver a letter about circumcision from the Jerusalem church to the
churches abroad. Together they had decided that it should be made
official that Christians should never
require new community members to follow any religious code of
covenant, including circumcision. Anyone, anywhere, from any
background or ethnicity would be welcome in the Kingdom of God,
without restriction. This decision opened the door for the new
churches to be alive with diversity. Much of the New Testament deals
with the challenges that face these new churches because of this
diversity, and their conviction to include.

So, while Paul
carries the letter condemning required ritual circumcision for which
he personally advocated so strongly, he also has Timothy the Greek
circumcised so as not to offend the people to whom he carries the
letter. Contemporary Christians would be wise to consider seriously
the lengths that Paul and Timothy are both willing to take in order
to preserve unity and smooth the way for their message to be
received.

Timothy would later become a pastor under Paul's
mentorship, and the recipient of two of Paul's letters - the pastoral
letters Timothy 1 and 2.

The other new comrade is Luke
himself, the writer of both this book (Acts), and the Gospel that
bears his name (Luke).

Luke's entrance into his own book is
far more subtle than Timothy's, first appearing in the tiny word "us"
in the tenth verse.

Acts
16:10 (ESV)And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we
sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to
preach the gospel to them.

Luke
was a Greek doctor who likely had joined the churches that sprang
from Paul's first mission. He becomes a witness to Paul's work, and
continues to appear in the "us" and "we" verses
that come up in the rest of the book.

These four, and possibly
others, travel until they come to Philippi, a colony city of the
Roman empire. Paul had received a vision that they should travel this
way, after being led by the Spirit away from other cities he'd
planned to visit. In Philippi they first have some success as a woman
they share with quickly accepts their message and then provides them
with lodging.

But fortunes change when the missionaries
collide with the spirit of the corrupt empire of Rome. A slave woman
doubly oppressed begins following Paul and Silas everywhere they go.
She is first oppressed and bound demonically, and it is this demonic
influence that leads her to be an annoyance and distraction to the
missionaries. But this demonic influence has also given her some
unnatural revelation ability, which is being manipulated by her
slaveowners for their financial gain. Very little could be more
contrary to the Spirit of the Kingdom of God that Paul and his
comrades preach. Citizens of the Kingdom are freed from all
oppressive powers, spiritual, legal, financial, and otherwise. In the
Kingdom all citizens live in complete equality, sharing generously
what they have with others. No one takes advantage of another for
their own gain, and no one can claim ownership or superiority under
the flag of the cross of Jesus.

Later, Paul will write these
radical words to the believers in this very city:Philippians
2:1-4 (ESV)

So
if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any
participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2
complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love,
being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from rivalry
or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than
yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own
interests, but also to the interests of others.

It
is in this Spirit that Paul and Timothy were willing to endure the
personal physical and philosophical compromise of circumcision for
the sake of the Jewish believers to whom they ministered. Even to
Timothy's own pain and against Paul's own zealously held convictions
they were willing, in love and unity, to act according to the
interests of their brothers. This is the Spirit of God's Kingdom, and
the love that binds its citizens.

In
the authority of Jesus' name Paul commands that the demonic
oppression of this woman be lifted. She is freed completely as her
life manifests Kingdom reality. When her owners realize the personal
financial consequence that their slave can no longer make them money,
their control and racism are stoked. In their anger, they drag Paul
and Silas before the authorities and demand revenge.In
the spirit of empire, they appeal to fear and racism, using Silas and
Paul's Jewish ethnicity as evidence against them. That both the Greek
Luke and Timothy are spared is quite telling. Paul and Silas are
thrown beaten and thrown in prison without a trial.

It is in
chains, at its weakest and most vulnerable, that the spirit of the
Kingdom of God is able to be seen most clearly. Just as Jesus had
taught in Luke 12, Paul and Silas are without anxiety, even when
locked away. They sing hymns in the prison, praising their King and
living as free citizens though in shackles.

Just as the
Kingdom was manifest in the doubly oppressed slave woman, it is
manifest again here for Paul and Silas as they sing. An earthquake
shakes the prison, and the doors are opened. Still, the missionaries
remain to encourage the frightened jailer not to harm himself.
Kingdom love is large enough to reach even an enemy. The jailer
responds to the love of Paul and Silas by receiving their words and
believing in Jesus as his King. The jailer brings the men to his
house where he washes the wounds of his newly adopted brothers, and
all of his family is baptized.

Such is it in the Kingdom of
God. In this Upside-Down Kingdom, slaves are freed and enemies become
brothers. All are equal, and each considers others even before
themselves.

In the final act, Paul and Silas receive a free
pass from the racist Roman authorities to leave the city. Still, Paul
does not receive the injustice inflicted upon him without calling for
an appeal. In their rush to condemn these Jewish resistors, the Roman
authorities had not thought to even consider their citizenship. Both
Paul and Silas were citizens of Rome. Their beating and imprisonment
had been illegal.

Paul
knew his standing as a citizen of the Kingdom of God. But as a free
citizen of that eternal Kingdom, he lived in resistance to the
empires of the world. Paul knew the legal rights offered him as a
citizen of this temporary empire as well, and freely used its legal
system for his advantage. The corrupt authorities would not submit to
the Law of true justice, but Paul held them accountable to their own.

Paul
and Silas receive a personal apology from the Roman magistrates
themselves before being reunited with Luke and Timothy. They leave
the city strengthened and encouraged, with freedom, justice, and
loving community in their wake.

Acts
16:37-40 (ESV)37 But Paul said to them, “They have beaten us
publicly, uncondemned, men who are Roman citizens, and have thrown us
into prison; and do they now throw us out secretly? No! Let them come
themselves and take us out.” 38 The police reported these words to
the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were
Roman citizens. 39 So they came and apologized to them. And they took
them out and asked them to leave the city. 40 So they went out of the
prison and visited Lydia. And when they had seen the brothers, they
encouraged them and departed.+

v1
Paul meets TIMOTHYv1 – Timothy is HALF GREEK and UNCIRCUMCISED,
but Paul ministers with him anywayv3 – Paul circumcises Timothy
even though he clearly does not believe it is necessary for Salvation
(15:10)The author is using the pronouns “US” and “WE”
now.v17 – Paul and his company; Paul and the rest of us.
Clearly, there are a few people working together on this ministry
team.v33 – No miraculous jailbreak. The miracle was the
Salvation of the jailer.v39 - awkward

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

But some men came
down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are
circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

Having returned from
a dramatic but successful missionary journey, Paul and Barnabas
remain in Antioch and share the news of all the diverse peoples who
have received the message of the Kingdom of God and have now begun to
live and share together in the freedom and grace Jesus gave. Those
who received their message were people previously with and without
faith, pagans and devout, all classes and creeds and cultures.

But some of the old
community still resist the idea that the freedom of Jesus really can
be received by anyone, regardless of their background, without any
code of religious law applied to them. Circumcision was the oldest of
the requirements of covenant, the first and most ancient symbol that
one had dedicated their life to God. Paul and Barnabas had been
welcoming uncircumcised pagans into the fellowship, without any
requirement of body modification to represent their dedication to
God's Kingdom.

Paul and Barnabas
testify boldly that Jesus' freedom has been and should continue to be
offered freely to all people, with no conditions of religious code
attached to the invitation (vv8-21). They should not need to be
circumcised. They should not be required to keep the Law of Moses.
Their welcome into the family of God should be hindered by nothing
but their repentance of their old way of life, their participation in
the spirit of empire and control, and their belief in Jesus.

Paul describes the
demonstration of their repentance as abstinence from idolatry and
sexual immorality (v20). These are not restrictions to be placed on
new believers based on some religious code, as circumcision would be.
They are specific symbols that represented the lifestyle of the
corruption and control of the pagan witchcraft practiced in the
Gentile cities. If the new believers have left the spirit of the
world behind, they would leave the practices of their old temples as
well. This would be a demonstrated result of their faith, not a
requirement for inclusion.

This is not the
first time the church has been confronted with such a controversy. In
Acts 10, Peter is the first to share Jesus with a Gentile, a Roman
Centurion who receives the Holy Spirit. The first response of his
community is to condemn him for eating with and entering the home of
an uncircumcised Gentile. After hearing Peter's testimony of God's
grace to the Roman, they relent. Paul and Barnabas are later sent by
their church to go and preach the Good News to diverse communities,
whatever their religious background.

Here for the first
time, it is officially recorded by the early Christians that they
should not and will not apply a religious law as a requirement for
anyone to receive the Kingdom of God (vv22-29). The cost of the
Kingdom will require a change of lifestyle. These early communities
will live in resistance to the powers of their day, and therefore
must live separate and share in community. But it is not a religious
code that will be required for their faith in Jesus.

Entrance into the
Kingdom will be freedom from and out of religious bondage, not into
bondage to another code and hierarchy. Jesus sets people free.

All of this is
written down and carried by letter from the first church in Jerusalem
by Paul and Barnabas to their church in Antioch.

Acts 15:30-35
(ESV)

30 So
when they were sent off, they went down to Antioch, and having
gathered the congregation together, they delivered the letter. 31 And
when they had read it, they rejoiced because of its encouragement.
32 And Judas and Silas, who were themselves prophets,
encouraged and strengthened the brothers with many words. 33 And
after they had spent some time, they were sent off in peace by the
brothers to those who had sent them. 35 But Paul and
Barnabas remained in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the
Lord, with many others also.

+

Paul and Barnabas
Part Ways (Acts 15:36-41)

Luke did not give us
a hint as to why Barnabas' nephew, John (Mark), left the mission with
Paul and Barnabas in Acts 13:13. He gives no further clue here.

The following is
from my notes on Acts 13:13:

John (Mark)
leaves them, but we are not told why. This parting of ways later
becomes very significant to Paul and Barnabas' relationship, so we
can assume their has been some sort of falling out between Paul and
young John (Mark). Even among brothers and sisters, citizens of the
Kingdom sharing in ministry together, offenses and broken
relationships can occur. We are still broken people, living by faith
in the promises of God. Until he returns, we can all make mistakes,
and from those mistakes offenses may come. The Good News is not that
we will never be hurt again, but that we may be redeemed to one
another in grace and forgiveness.

In Acts 15:36, Paul
suggests to Barnabas that they return to the communities that started
because of their first mission together. When Barnabas suggests
bringing his nephew “John called Mark” (v37), Paul sharply
disagrees (v39). Though Paul had advocated strongly for the church to
extend great grace to anyone anywhere who would join the Jesus
movement, no matter what their background or faith, his grace does
not extend to (John) Mark, with whom he holds offense for having
abandoned them (v39). Barnabas, called “the Encourager” (Acts
4:36) had demonstrated his name by advocating for Paul, helping him
join the community even after having murderously violent toward them
before believing in Jesus (Acts 9:26-30). Had it not been for the
grace and boldness of his friend, Barnabas, Paul may never have been
received by the church.

Barnabas once again
acts according to his name, siding with (John) Mark, the outsider,
and offering grace and forgiveness to someone who had failed. He is
doing for his nephew exactly what he had done for Paul.

It is a tragedy that
this disagreement should end in the separation of these two brothers
(v39), a tragedy that Paul should not recognize and demonstrate the
grace of Jesus in this circumstance.

It is a
demonstration of the Grace of God that he should still choose to
powerfully use both of these men as they each leave for separate
missions. Though he is still imperfect, still flawed, still
demonstrating the spirit of control and corruption and empire, God
continues to use Paul to grow his Kingdom on Earth.

It
is the Grace of God, and not our own works, that receives us into his
Kingdom. It is entirely by the Grace of God, and not our own
worthiness, in which we continue in it to abide.

+

v2
– Paul hated this teaching

v10
– The law is impossible to bear

The
elders in Jerusalem, including PETER, Jesus’ disciple, and JAMES,
Jesus’ brother, agree to send Paul and Barnabas as missionaries to
the Gentiles, believing that God wanted them also to be saved.

v39
– see 13:13 – This shows that even committed and maturing
Christians can have personal disputes.

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Paul
and Barnabas begin their ministry at the synagogue once again, just
as they did in the previous two cities. Just as in Cyprus, their
message of the Good News of the Kingdom of God is demonstrated with
miracles. Many of both the religious faithful and the pagan Gentiles
believe the message, and begin to live as free Kingdom Citizens.
Others of both groups reject the message, and Paul and Barnabas along
with it. As tension rises to potential violence. Paul and Barnabas
leave the city and move on to Lystra.

Paul
and Barnabas in Lystra (Acts 14:8-23)

Lystra
is a Greek city, and does not have a synagogue. This puts Paul and
Barnabas completely out of their element as they begin to preach of a
Just and Loving God of which the citizens do not know. While he
shares the Good News of the upside-down Kingdom, a man unable to walk
is healed by the Holy Spirit's power. The demonstration of the
Kingdom is misunderstood by the people who see it, and they believe
that Paul and Barnabas are gods. The missionaries are distraught,
tearing their clothes when they realize what the people are doing.
They do all they can to correct them, explaining that it was the
power of the Holy Spirit through them, not themselves that could heal
a man.

Meanwhile,
the agitators from the other cities they left arrive in Lystra to
oppose the message. The agitators have Paul stoned, throwing rocks at
him until they believe him dead. After being dragged outside the
city, he gets back up and reenters Lystra. Later he would write about
this and other persecutions as part of the cost of following Jesus.

Paul
and Barnabas Travel Back to Antioch (Acts 14:21-28)

After
being stoned nearly to death, Paul retreats with Barnabas back to
their home church in Antioch. All along the way back, they return to
each of the cities they had visited. In each, communities of new
Christians have formed new churches, Kingdom Outpost Communities of
Love, Justice, and resistance. Paul and Barnabas encourage and teach
in each one, and help them organize by choosing elders from among
them. Paul also brings another messagee. He tells the young
communities that they should expect tribulation as Kingdom citizens.
No doubt his scars and bruises testified loudly to these communities
that resistance to the spirit of corruption, empire, and control
would come at great cost.

Upon
returning home to Antioch, the good news they have to share is that
the message of Jesus has indeed continued to be received by Gentile
and pagan outsiders.

Acts
14:27-28 (ESV)

27 And
when they arrived and gathered the church together, they declared all
that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith to
the Gentiles. 28 And
they remained no little time with the disciples.

Conclusion

The
pattern of this first Christian mission communicates much of the
message Paul (Saul) and Barnabas carried.

Respect
for the Local Community of Faith - When possible, the
missionaries always began in the local synagogue, among people who
already knew and had faith in God and scripture. These houses of
worship and the communities they represented would be their base of
operations, and they encouraged the people of the city to come to
these communities.

Bold
Proclamation of Jesus – Whether they are received or rejected,
the missionaries boldly declare the freedom, love, and justice
offered in Jesus. They preach repentance, a complete change of life
and practice toward the Kingdom of God. Even when it may mean
violent persecution, or misunderstanding, they continue until they
have clearly communicated their message.

Demonstration
of Holy Spirit Power – When led, the message of the Kingdom is
demonstrated through the missionaries by miracles and healing. They
are away from home, so the people are unable to see the practice of
Kingdom Life as demonstrated by the churches. The Holy Spirit
manifest demonstrates the true and practical and immediate nature of
the Kingdom. This is not just an idea or philosophy. This is Good
News for right now.

No
Manipulation or Coercion – When rejected, the missionaries
simply move on. They do not intentionally remain to coerce or
incite. Their message in given as invitation, not manipulation.

Church
Planting – Wherever they go, the missionaries help the new
followers organize themselves into local, autonomous communities
from which ministry and blessing to their cities will continue.

Submission
to their own Local Community – The Missionaries go as
ambassadors of Jesus, sent by their local church. They are not rogue
travelers or tourists. They are not seeking followers for
themselves. Their ministry is an extension of their community,
willingly supports the communities they visit, and helps establish
the new communities they will leave behind. When they are done, they
return to their own community to share the news of their ministry
abroad.

Monday, June 25, 2012

Now
there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas,
Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong
friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 2 While
they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set
apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called
them.” 3 Then
after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them
off.

The
Good News of The Kingdom of God has been spreading far and wide, to
people of all ethnicities, religions, and classes. Boldly have the
followers of Jesus preached that the Good News is not just hope for
some distant future, pie-in-the-sky reality, but a real, tangible
participation in the coming Kingdom of Justice and Love that begins
here and now. In the execution and resurrection of Jesus, the age of
empire was ended and the Kingdom inaugurated. From that point until
his return, the gates have been swung open for all people to enter.

As
more and more people live the Holy-Spirit empowered life of God's
Just Kingdom, he also works a Great Reversal in the world. Rulers are
removed, and the humble exalted. The poor rejoice and the rich mourn.
Prisoners are set free. Mountains are brought down, and valleys
raised. The last will be first and the first, last. The freedom
offered in Jesus is freedom from the oppression of the world's
empires, and freedom from the consequences of the spirit of empire
within us. In it's place he gives believer's the Holy Spirit, the
Spirit of God dwelling within them and empowering them to live free,
and in resistance to the corrupt patterns of the world.

These
resisters have formed communities where they share their things
radically with one another, living in equality and harmony in
opposition to the striving and hierarchies of the world's systems.
These believers were first called followers of “The Way”, and
were badly persecuted for their faith. As they scattered to escape
persecution, they spread like living seeds, and more communities grew
in the cities where they settled. Wherever they go, they continue to
demonstrate Kingdom love and justice, and share the story of Jesus
and forgiveness. Here in Antioch, the believing communities are fist
called Christians.

Among
the believers in Antioch is Saul. He once violently persecuted the
Christians, but has since been transformed by the power of God,
turned away from his violence, and joined the Kingdom communities,
all at great cost to his old rank and reputation. He has counted all
his previous life rubbish in comparison to the truth of the Good News
he now lives.

The
church in Antioch is a diverse one. By now, the gospel has been
presented without hindrance to anyone who would receive it, so the
church is made up of a diversity of peoples in all areas of its life.
Here we see five men named, called prophets and teachers, intentional
and necessary roles fulfilling church life. There is great diversity
among them alone.

Barnabas
is one of the first Jewish converts, called the encourager. He is
often described going out of his way to include outsiders, and may be
partly responsible for diversity in this group.

Simeon
and Lucius are both black, and Lucius is an immigrant.

Manaen
is an old friend of the ruler Herod, who presided over Jesus'
trial on the day of his execution, had one of Jesus' original
disciple's executed, and threw another in jail. He was likely a
wealthy and influential man before joining the Christians.

Saul
is the infamous violent persecutor of the church, radically
transformed by Jesus into one of their greatest advocates. Barnabas
was one of his first friends among the Jesus followers, and had
helped him enter the community.

From
here in Antioch, Saul and Barnabas are sent out as the first
intentional Christian missionaries. They will travel together with
the express intent to share the Good News of freedom in Jesus to
people away from their home. Chapter 13 records their travels to
Cyprus and Pisidia. In chapter 14, they travel to Iconium and Lystra.
Their experiences on this first short journey illustrate a pattern in
travelling ministry that continues through the rest of Acts.

Saul
and Barnabas with John (Mark) in Cyprus (Acts 13:4-12)

Saul
and Barnabas sail to Cyprus with John (Mark), nephew of Barnabas.
They enter the Jewish synagogue first, a starting point that makes
good sense since their message is rooted in Jewish faith, scripture,
and practice. They would be received well but for one agitator,
described as a magician. Saul calls him out, rebukes him, and
prophesies judgment. The man goes temporarily blind, a miracle that
represents the blindness he communicates and practices. The
demonstration of Holy Spirit power results in people receiving the
message that Saul and Barnabas share.

In
verse 9, Saul (his Hebrew name) begins to be called Paul (his Greek
name), as he begins to intentionally reach out to the Greek outsiders
with the Good News.

Paul
(Saul) and Barnabas in Pisidia (Acts 13:13-52)

Paul
(Saul) and Barnabas continue on. John (Mark) leaves them, but we are
not told why. This parting of ways later becomes very significant to
Paul and Barnabas' relationship, so we can assume there has been some
sort of falling out between Paul and young John (Mark). Even among
brothers and sisters, citizens of the Kingdom sharing in ministry
together, offenses and broken relationships can occur. We are still
broken people, living by faith in the promises of God. Until he
returns, we can all make mistakes, and from those mistakes offenses
may come. The Good News is not that we will never be hurt again, but
that we may be redeemed to one another in grace and forgiveness.

In
Pisidia, Paul and Barnabas again begin their ministry in the
synagogue. This time they are unopposed, and the people gladly and
enthusiastically receive their bold message of freedom, hope, and
love. They are asked to return the following week.

But
when they return one week later, they bring with them most of the
Greek outsiders who also live in the city. Before this time, the
religious Jews of Pisidia would have faithfully excluded the Gentiles
in obedience to their law code. But the Good News that Paul and
Barnabas preach is for everyone, regardless of their cultural or
religious background. The two new missionaries have probably been
spending the last week inviting everyone in town to come and hear
what they have to say. This radical practice of inclusion has been
controversial and difficult for the church so far. Here in Pisidia,
the religious faithful are not ready to open the doors to the masses.

Still,
many of the religious faithful do receive the message, as do many of
the pagan Gentiles. Paul and Barnabas shake off the dust of those
that rejected them. They do not press the issue or try to manipulate
or coerce those who do not want what they offer. They simply move on.
Meanwhile, they also rejoice in the freedom received by those in
Pisidia who believe and follow the message of freedom.

21 On an appointed day Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat upon the throne, and delivered an oration to them. 22 And the people were shouting, “The voice of a god, and not of a man!” 23 Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last.

24 But the word of God increased and multiplied.

The Kingdom of God has been rapidly spreading like weeds along the countryside. The empire of Rome itself is soon to take notice of these resistance communities of free and just citizens, generously sharing equally and without coercion. The name of Jesus is on their lips, he who was executed by the empire as an insurrectionist only a scant few years before. All boundaries to enter this Kingdom have now been transcended, and anyone regardless of gender, ethnicity, or religion is welcome to freely enjoy the benefits of Kingdom life.

The cost of citizenship is one's own power and privilege. In the Kingdom, no one holds control or rank over another. All come to the table as equals, rich an poor, citizens of all nations. For the poor, this is good news. For those who hold power in this age, it is also good news, for the power of the world is corruption, and the only authority with any value is that which is submitted to Jesus, the chosen one, the King of kings.

In Acts 10, Peter the Jesus Follower is led to share this Good News with an unlikely audience, the household of a wealthy and high ranking Centurian of the Roman army. Upon entering the Roman's house, this backwoods, undereducated, former fisherman gets a surprise welcome.

Acts 10:25-26 (ESV)

Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. When Peter entered, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him. But Peter lifted him up, saying, “Stand up; I too am a man.”

In the Kingdom, all honour and glory and praise goes directly to the one who is the source of all life, God alone. We are united in our common humanity, each of us made equally in God's image, each of us rescued from the violent empires of the world and the empires within by Jesus our only true King. Peter had no need to receive praise or use such adoration for his own gain. As a child of God, his eternal value had already been affirmed, and his authority came from Jesus, not human acclaim.

But in the world's system, power and authority must be earned. Once acquired, it must be kept by violent force or manipulation. This is a it was for Herod, the tetrarch and puppet-authority of Rome who had presided over one of Jesus' trials on the day of his execution.

Herod had rebuilt the temple in Jerusalem, a political act intended to impress and appease the people who were being oppressed Rome. It was the courtyard of this impressive fifteen story building that Jesus and the crowds had occupied in the week before his execution (see Occupy the Temple in Luke 19). It was near this courtyard that Peter had preached his first sermon, on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2) when 3000 heard the news of the Just Kingdom and received Jesus as their King. Now, Herod is tracking down the most influential of these new communities, and commanding them arrested and killed. Like the temple he built, he does so to impress, appease, and control the people.

The first to die by Herod's hand is James. He is the first of the original twelve Jesus Followers to be officially executed. Next he arrests Peter. Herod had a high opinion of his own power, but Peter sleeps in prison on the night before he is likely to be executed. The community prays for his release from prison, though they had just lost a brother the same way very recently. Their confidence is in the hand of God's will, to whom they appeal, not Herod's authority.

Peter is miraculously freed from prison as he slept and returns to the praying community.

Herod responds in the only way he knows how, the violence and control of empire. He has Peter's guards killed.

Shortly after, Herod dies as he responds to worship in exactly the opposite way to which Peter had responded in Acts 10. When called a god, he has no argument. The only true authority, the one that breaks chains, removes walls, and builds his temple in the hearts of the poor, struck Herod down dead.

Such is it in the Kingdom of God. While rebels who deign to call themselves kings plot to kill the righteous, those righteous sleep soundly as God works justice for them. While the world appeals to earthly authorities to act on their behalf, God's community recognizes the work of the one true authority in the world, and participates in the justice and peace of the coming Kingdom. We resist the rebels of the world, no matter what title or rank they may give themselves. God's Kingdom and will shall be done on earth, no matter how the corrupt nations may plot and strive.